When the global pandemic closed the doors to just about every performing arts opportunity in the country, everyone had some extra time to think.

For some, it was an opportunity to think how things could be done differently.

So it was for Martin Aungle, the director of a Sydney-based marketing and communications company, who, with co-founder Shelley Armsworth, developed a gift voucher program that not only provided employees with arts experiences but also contributed to the long-term sustainability of the arts sector.

Armsworth and Aungle’s brainchild, Giving Culture, was launched in December 2022. Today, it has partners in music, theatre, and film: the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO), Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP), the Sydney Film Festival (SFF), and, since the beginning of 2025, the Australian World Orchestra (AWO).

Martin Aungle and Shelley Armsworth. Photo Brian Rapsey | Rhapsody Pictures

“It wouldn’t have happened without the COVID-19 lockdowns,” Aungle tells Limelight.

“My family and I had been subscribers to the Sydney Dance Company for years, and when everything got cancelled, they sent an email asking if we’d like a refund or if we’d like to donate the value of our tickets back to the organisation....